It is that time of the year to round up some of my favorite images taken in the year of 2018. Again, lots of herps (amphibians, reptiles) this year. Mostly with a wide angle lens and/or a 60mm macro lens.

Malayan Spinejaw Snake (Xenophidion schaeferi). This is probably the rarest snake in Peninsular Malaysia. The specific ephitet was in honour of Christian Schaefer - the herpetologist who found the holotype in 1988, and donated it to Zoological Museum, Berlin. Thirty years later, I found the third specimen while out looking for frogs with a guest! Peninsular Malaysia.Xenophidion schaeferi_MG_0876 copy by Kurt (Orionmystery) G, on Flickr

This should be quite an easy "spot me" challenge. Go ahead! Peninsular Malaysia. If you can't find it, you can cheat by looking at the other 3 photos.Spot Me_MG_3332 copy by Kurt (Orionmystery) G, on Flickr

Those finds and shots are incredible. The Xenophidion must have made your heart jump, you might consider publishing that encounter somewhere. When you say "lowland forest of sarawak", where in Sarawak was that?

dendrelaphis wrote:Those finds and shots are incredible. The Xenophidion must have made your heart jump, you might consider publishing that encounter somewhere. When you say "lowland forest of sarawak", where in Sarawak was that?

Thanks. I was so stoked even weeks after the find!!! Mainly just the national parks of Sarawak.

Thanks. I think X. acanthognathus only occurs in Borneo? A few Xenophidion have been found the past few years. There was another X. schaeferi found in 2017. Mine was on April 20, 2018. There was also a first record of Xenophidion in 2018.

Neil found Xenophidion acanthognathus in Sarawak in 2017. He posted pics of it in this forum.

Interesting read. A lot of conclusions made based on one sided lineage. It would appear based on that study that quite possibly X. acanthognathus may be deemed invalid and/or the white/yellowish nape be more prevalent in X. shaeferi.

In any case, to have found something that has rarely been observed is really cool!

With Anomochilus and Xenophidion under your belt, there are few remaining conquests.

Your post is a great resumé for "Expert Field Man" - others need not apply.

Jeff

Thanks, Jeff. I still couldn't believe i actually found a Xenophidion! Anomochilus is a lot more common though. I have only seen one in Peninsular but have seen three in Sabah - A. monticola at the highland of Sabah.